Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
BYU study looks at how business innovation happens Leaders » Successful people ask questions, challenge status quo.
Ever wonder how Michael Dell came up with the idea to create his own computer company? Or how Pierre Omidyar dreamed up the online marketplace eBay? Or how Jeff Bezos came up with the bold moves needed to develop Amazon.com into one of America's most successful companies?
After more than six years of research, Brigham Young University professor Jeff Dyer is convinced that these visionary business leaders and others didn't start out completely hard-wired for creativity and innovation.
"I always thought creativity was genetic -- that some people have it, some people don't, and there's not much you can do to get better at it," Dyer said.
But Dyer thinks differently now. The key qualities that separate great leaders from not-so-great ones can be developed, he and his colleagues contend in "The Innovator's DNA."
Dyer, along with co-authors Hal B. Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen of Harvard Business School, surveyed more than 3,000 executives and managers who had not started a business or invented a product. Their responses were compared with about 500 business people -- such as Dell, Omidyar and Bezos -- who are widely recognized for their creative achievements in entrepreneurship and invention.
One key characteristic among the visionaries? The tendency to ask questions -- a lot of them -- and to challenge the status quo -- plenty.
Dyer said by comparison, most executives and managers in corporate America today focus on
making companies run smoothly and efficiently. Yet based on their research published in the Harvard Business Review , the most effective leaders "are much more likely to ask 'What if' questions, such as, 'What would happen if we do this?' They ask things like, 'What if we try doing things a new way, how will it change the world?'"
Michael Dell, for example, told Dyer and his colleagues the idea for creating a computer company sprang from a simple question: Why does an assembled computer costs five times as much as the parts that went into it?
Dyer recommends that business leaders spend at least 15 minutes to 30 minutes per day jotting down questions that "challenge the status quo" in their companies, or in their industry, or in their lives.
Bezos, of Amazon.com, told researchers that questioning and experimentation are so critical to innovation that he has institutionalized it at his company.
"I encourage our employees to go down blind alleys and experiment," Bezos said. "If we can get processes decentralized so that we can do a lot of experiments without it being very costly, we'll get a lot more innovation."
Visionary leaders also are good at studying how other people -- and companies -- do things. Dyer said such leaders also are more likely than non-visionaries to have lived in more than one country for an extended period of time. He believes the two qualities are related.
"When people live in different countries, they are more likely to carefully observe what's going on," Dyer said. "It seems to broaden their experiences, and they become more attuned to observing their environments and talking to people with different backgrounds and points of view."
But Dyer said no long journey is required to capitalize on the powers of observation.
Intuit founder Scott Cook said he came up with the idea for Quicken financial software simply by watching his wife struggle to find a way to effectively manage the family's finances.
Dyer said observing how customers and potential customers use a company's product or service can prove particularly useful.
Aside from questioning and observing, visionary leaders also are good at networking, Dyer said. But not for the reasons you might think.
They use networking as a way to gain access to find -- and get feedback for -- new ideas. They observe what others are doing and question whether it would benefit them to follow suit. "They don't use networking just as a tool to mobilize resources or promote themselves," he said. "It's a totally different focus on networking to find and test ideas."
Rex Falkenrath, director of the Miller Business Innovation Center in Salt Lake City, said he agrees with most of the points raised in the research. But he questions one key assertion, that two-thirds of a person's ability to innovate is learned and the other one-third is tied to how the person is hard-wired.
"It is just the opposite," argued Falkenrath, who has started and run businesses, and advised other entrepreneurs . He believes the brains of innovators "simply work differently."
Their ability to visualize concepts, their persistence, their risk-taking and their comfort in disrupting the status quo all are innate, he believes. "The super-innovators are actually different; Their minds work in ways that others don't."
lesley@sltrib.com
After more than six years of research, Brigham Young University professor Jeff Dyer is convinced that these visionary business leaders and others didn't start out completely hard-wired for creativity and innovation.
"I always thought creativity was genetic -- that some people have it, some people don't, and there's not much you can do to get better at it," Dyer said.
But Dyer thinks differently now. The key qualities that separate great leaders from not-so-great ones can be developed, he and his colleagues contend in "The Innovator's DNA."
Dyer, along with co-authors Hal B. Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen of Harvard Business School, surveyed more than 3,000 executives and managers who had not started a business or invented a product. Their responses were compared with about 500 business people -- such as Dell, Omidyar and Bezos -- who are widely recognized for their creative achievements in entrepreneurship and invention.
One key characteristic among the visionaries? The tendency to ask questions -- a lot of them -- and to challenge the status quo -- plenty.
Dyer said by comparison, most executives and managers in corporate America today focus on
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Michael Dell, for example, told Dyer and his colleagues the idea for creating a computer company sprang from a simple question: Why does an assembled computer costs five times as much as the parts that went into it?
Dyer recommends that business leaders spend at least 15 minutes to 30 minutes per day jotting down questions that "challenge the status quo" in their companies, or in their industry, or in their lives.
Bezos, of Amazon.com, told researchers that questioning and experimentation are so critical to innovation that he has institutionalized it at his company.
"I encourage our employees to go down blind alleys and experiment," Bezos said. "If we can get processes decentralized so that we can do a lot of experiments without it being very costly, we'll get a lot more innovation."
Visionary leaders also are good at studying how other people -- and companies -- do things. Dyer said such leaders also are more likely than non-visionaries to have lived in more than one country for an extended period of time. He believes the two qualities are related.
"When people live in different countries, they are more likely to carefully observe what's going on," Dyer said. "It seems to broaden their experiences, and they become more attuned to observing their environments and talking to people with different backgrounds and points of view."
But Dyer said no long journey is required to capitalize on the powers of observation.
Intuit founder Scott Cook said he came up with the idea for Quicken financial software simply by watching his wife struggle to find a way to effectively manage the family's finances.
Dyer said observing how customers and potential customers use a company's product or service can prove particularly useful.
Aside from questioning and observing, visionary leaders also are good at networking, Dyer said. But not for the reasons you might think.
They use networking as a way to gain access to find -- and get feedback for -- new ideas. They observe what others are doing and question whether it would benefit them to follow suit. "They don't use networking just as a tool to mobilize resources or promote themselves," he said. "It's a totally different focus on networking to find and test ideas."
Rex Falkenrath, director of the Miller Business Innovation Center in Salt Lake City, said he agrees with most of the points raised in the research. But he questions one key assertion, that two-thirds of a person's ability to innovate is learned and the other one-third is tied to how the person is hard-wired.
"It is just the opposite," argued Falkenrath, who has started and run businesses, and advised other entrepreneurs . He believes the brains of innovators "simply work differently."
Their ability to visualize concepts, their persistence, their risk-taking and their comfort in disrupting the status quo all are innate, he believes. "The super-innovators are actually different; Their minds work in ways that others don't."
lesley@sltrib.com
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Life
Ua living is determined not so much by wat life brings ya as by the attitude ya bring to life; not so much by wat happens to ya as by the way ua mind looks at wat happens. - Lewis L. Dunnington, Author
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Take the plunge, but do it afraid!
They say taking a cold shower is very good for your health. Very high on the list of things to do if you want to live to a ripe old age, right next to drinking say eggs for breakfast. Here's the thing- i don't buy it!
Even though my health conscious friends insist it has the potential of increasing my lifespan by one whole year! What's one year vis a vis sixty or seven spent sipping eggnog every morning and shivering in anticipation of jumping into cold shower? Life's too short, i say.
Cold Showers
When it comes to cold showers, though, i've said my dues during those holiday trips upcountry as a child. It was considered a waste of wood fuel to heat water for a bath. "What?! Bathe with hot water? How?!" my grandmother would ask in shock that one could even contemplate such a 'luxury'. And so we would make our way to the open air mabati bathroom at the end of her vegetable garden witha pail full of cold water in hand. It would take me almost an hour to take the bath, but not on account of enjoying the experience.
Once safely enclosed inside the rickety bathroom, i would spend several minutes giving myself a pep talk on the bendits of cold showers. "it wouldn't kill you," i would reason with my young self. "indeed, it might even be good for you." I would then think about my able bodied cousins who didn't seem any worse for having taken cold showers all their lives. Then to a silent chanting of "YES I CAN! I KNOW I CAN!", i would take the plunge. Those first moments when the cold river water hit warm skin were the hardest, and it took every ounce of willpower not to scream out.
After moments of furious shaking, with the next cup of water, the body adjusted and it became easier, even fun at times. Those shivering moments before the bath taught me that there are some things one can't put aside simply because of the fear of doing it. One must learn to do what they fear, while in the dear. Waiting for the fear to end it futile!
As a response, fear can be a good thing as it keeps us from dangerous situations. However, there are many more times when it's limiting and immobilising factor that keeps us from the life we desire. Almost every entrepreneur who ventures into business recognises the fear, but for many, the vision they have painted helps them break through immobilising barrier. We fear asking for a pay rise because of how that might look to our superiors and then fear what will happen because we didn't ask for a pay rise. We may fear spending the rest of our life with someone because doing so means we forfeit some of our independence. Similarly, the fear of being alone may keep us in a bad relationship.
The thing is, fear is a constant companion in life. Expecting life to be free of fearful situations is counterproductive. The way to deal with fear is to recognise it for what it is: an emotion with the ability to keep us safe. However, it can also keep us chained.
Fear can help us analyse our next action, clarifying our next steps. Going through the barrier of fear is useful because it is usually an unforgettable experience that builds the resolve to help us in moments of self doubt.
Unfortunately, too many of us, stay on the other side of that cold shower. We refuse to move forward, paralysed by fear, waiting for the fear to first end so we can embark on our next course of action.
Part of the process
As anyone who has ever taken a cold shower, bungee-jumped, spoken in public or walked through a gorilla forest knows, the fear, the clenching of teeth, the shaking knees, the pep talk are part of the process. If we are conceived that our actions will bring us to life we desire, we must face and feel the fear. Then we must do it afraid!
Even though my health conscious friends insist it has the potential of increasing my lifespan by one whole year! What's one year vis a vis sixty or seven spent sipping eggnog every morning and shivering in anticipation of jumping into cold shower? Life's too short, i say.
Cold Showers
When it comes to cold showers, though, i've said my dues during those holiday trips upcountry as a child. It was considered a waste of wood fuel to heat water for a bath. "What?! Bathe with hot water? How?!" my grandmother would ask in shock that one could even contemplate such a 'luxury'. And so we would make our way to the open air mabati bathroom at the end of her vegetable garden witha pail full of cold water in hand. It would take me almost an hour to take the bath, but not on account of enjoying the experience.
Once safely enclosed inside the rickety bathroom, i would spend several minutes giving myself a pep talk on the bendits of cold showers. "it wouldn't kill you," i would reason with my young self. "indeed, it might even be good for you." I would then think about my able bodied cousins who didn't seem any worse for having taken cold showers all their lives. Then to a silent chanting of "YES I CAN! I KNOW I CAN!", i would take the plunge. Those first moments when the cold river water hit warm skin were the hardest, and it took every ounce of willpower not to scream out.
After moments of furious shaking, with the next cup of water, the body adjusted and it became easier, even fun at times. Those shivering moments before the bath taught me that there are some things one can't put aside simply because of the fear of doing it. One must learn to do what they fear, while in the dear. Waiting for the fear to end it futile!
As a response, fear can be a good thing as it keeps us from dangerous situations. However, there are many more times when it's limiting and immobilising factor that keeps us from the life we desire. Almost every entrepreneur who ventures into business recognises the fear, but for many, the vision they have painted helps them break through immobilising barrier. We fear asking for a pay rise because of how that might look to our superiors and then fear what will happen because we didn't ask for a pay rise. We may fear spending the rest of our life with someone because doing so means we forfeit some of our independence. Similarly, the fear of being alone may keep us in a bad relationship.
The thing is, fear is a constant companion in life. Expecting life to be free of fearful situations is counterproductive. The way to deal with fear is to recognise it for what it is: an emotion with the ability to keep us safe. However, it can also keep us chained.
Fear can help us analyse our next action, clarifying our next steps. Going through the barrier of fear is useful because it is usually an unforgettable experience that builds the resolve to help us in moments of self doubt.
Unfortunately, too many of us, stay on the other side of that cold shower. We refuse to move forward, paralysed by fear, waiting for the fear to first end so we can embark on our next course of action.
Part of the process
As anyone who has ever taken a cold shower, bungee-jumped, spoken in public or walked through a gorilla forest knows, the fear, the clenching of teeth, the shaking knees, the pep talk are part of the process. If we are conceived that our actions will bring us to life we desire, we must face and feel the fear. Then we must do it afraid!
JOKES
Stationer: You don't buy magazines anymore?
James: A now ago, i read that smoking, eating red meat, drinking and having a little extra activity with women can kill. I stopped reading!
##
Eunice: Wake up!
Hymie: What's the matter?
Eunice: You're talking in your sleep again. Control yourself!
Hymie: We'll make a bargain. You let me talk when i'm awake and i'll try to control myself when asleep!
##
Manuel was desperate to settle down with a nice girl, but every time he introduced one to his mother, she rejected his choice.
A friend came up with a possible solution. "Find a girl who is just like your mother. That way, she is sure to approve."
Manuel found the spitting image of his mother in a girl called Pretty. The following week, Manuel bumped into his friend again: " So, did you take my advice?"
"Certainly did, " said Manuel. "They could have been mistaken for sisters."
"And did you take Pretty home to meet your parents?"
"Yes, but, my father didn't like her!"
##
If practice makes perfect and, nobody's perfect, why practice?
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
Do people with psychic powers get nostalgic about next week?
Are complete pessimists positively negative?
Why do the signs that say "Slow children" show a picture of a running child?
Why is it so hard to spell mnemonic?
What would the speed of lightning be if didn't zig zag?
How do sheep know if you are pulling the wool over their eyes?
Democracy is that form of government where everybody gets what the majority deserves.
Diplomacy is the ability to tell someone "get lost" in such a way that they look forward to the trip.
Do not believe in miracles, rely on them.
Do someone a favor and it becomes your job.
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
Don't be irreplaceable; if you cannot be replaced, you cannot be promoted.
Don't be so open minded that your your brain falls out.
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
Don't lend people money, it gives them amnesia.
James: A now ago, i read that smoking, eating red meat, drinking and having a little extra activity with women can kill. I stopped reading!
##
Eunice: Wake up!
Hymie: What's the matter?
Eunice: You're talking in your sleep again. Control yourself!
Hymie: We'll make a bargain. You let me talk when i'm awake and i'll try to control myself when asleep!
##
Manuel was desperate to settle down with a nice girl, but every time he introduced one to his mother, she rejected his choice.
A friend came up with a possible solution. "Find a girl who is just like your mother. That way, she is sure to approve."
Manuel found the spitting image of his mother in a girl called Pretty. The following week, Manuel bumped into his friend again: " So, did you take my advice?"
"Certainly did, " said Manuel. "They could have been mistaken for sisters."
"And did you take Pretty home to meet your parents?"
"Yes, but, my father didn't like her!"
##
If practice makes perfect and, nobody's perfect, why practice?
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
Do people with psychic powers get nostalgic about next week?
Are complete pessimists positively negative?
Why do the signs that say "Slow children" show a picture of a running child?
Why is it so hard to spell mnemonic?
What would the speed of lightning be if didn't zig zag?
How do sheep know if you are pulling the wool over their eyes?
Democracy is that form of government where everybody gets what the majority deserves.
Diplomacy is the ability to tell someone "get lost" in such a way that they look forward to the trip.
Do not believe in miracles, rely on them.
Do someone a favor and it becomes your job.
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
Don't be irreplaceable; if you cannot be replaced, you cannot be promoted.
Don't be so open minded that your your brain falls out.
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
Don't lend people money, it gives them amnesia.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Keeping Slim
Keeping slim is good for the planet, say scientists. When it comes to food production, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler, the heavier our bodies become the harder and more unpleasant it is to note about in them and the more dependent we become on our cars. Staying slim is good for health and for the environment. We need to be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness, and recognise it as a key factor in the battle to reduce emissions and slow climatic change (courtesy, ScienceDaily).
Don't Quit
Don't quit when the tide is lowest, for it's just about to turn.
Don't quit over doubts and questions, for there's something you may learn.
Don't quit when the night is darkest, for it's just a while until dawn.
Don't quit when you av run the farthest, for the race is almost won.
Don't quit when when the hill is steepest, for your goal is almost nigh.
Don't quit for you're not a failure, until you fail to try.
Don't quit over doubts and questions, for there's something you may learn.
Don't quit when the night is darkest, for it's just a while until dawn.
Don't quit when you av run the farthest, for the race is almost won.
Don't quit when when the hill is steepest, for your goal is almost nigh.
Don't quit for you're not a failure, until you fail to try.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Corruption
Corruption. Graft. Bribery. Whatever name you wanna call it, is a devil that keeps on rearing it's ugly face. Every passing day, our humble ears will not rest unless it hasn't heard of any corrupt individual in this government. Is it a game of show me who is corrupt and i'll show you one who is also corrupt. Call it a game of cleaning our linen in the public glare. Whatever name you call it, "it's our time to eat" seems to take a foothold in the political arena in Kenya. The leadership in this country have really perpetuated the levels of corruption to a much larger extent, such that we Kenyans are even contemplating accepting it as a way of life.
If there is one thing that's eating into our 4.5% economic growth, it's this sore-thumb called graft! It is highly embedded in high places. From procurements to supplies, from health to our foods, from grave matters to even the current constitutional dispensation.
We all have a duty to hit this thing on the head from our lives, youths. It's good riddance that most of us youths ain't corrupt, or aren't we? We must take our country back from this corrupt morons. They make this country look like a smear of grease on the queen's coffee cup!
Am not corrupt, and am planning not to be. What about you?
If there is one thing that's eating into our 4.5% economic growth, it's this sore-thumb called graft! It is highly embedded in high places. From procurements to supplies, from health to our foods, from grave matters to even the current constitutional dispensation.
We all have a duty to hit this thing on the head from our lives, youths. It's good riddance that most of us youths ain't corrupt, or aren't we? We must take our country back from this corrupt morons. They make this country look like a smear of grease on the queen's coffee cup!
Am not corrupt, and am planning not to be. What about you?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tribanation
Tribanation-the transformation of the Kenyan nation into tribal outfits. Our leaders av really catalysed this metamorphosis. The post-election violence is a very good example of how tribanation can actually incise our fundamentals of unity. It's true that we av not actually gelled as a people. There's no bond between the tribes. No love between the ethnicities! What will we do so as to achieve the unity we so desire? What will we do to insure our country against the repeat of the violence that we all witnessed, experienced and even committed?
It's time to crucify the devil of hatred and animosity among us. It's time that we remove the cloud of misgivings between us.
Am very very afraid that we gonna witness a full-blown explosion of the pressure that has been simmering in the people due to unresolved cases that was the core of the violence that we experienced two years ago.
My resolution is: am not gonna hate. Am gonna love all, no matter where you come from. What's yours?
It's time to crucify the devil of hatred and animosity among us. It's time that we remove the cloud of misgivings between us.
Am very very afraid that we gonna witness a full-blown explosion of the pressure that has been simmering in the people due to unresolved cases that was the core of the violence that we experienced two years ago.
My resolution is: am not gonna hate. Am gonna love all, no matter where you come from. What's yours?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
THEMATIC FOCUS
1. EDUCATION, CAPACITY BUILDING AND AWARENESS CREATION
Education is the only inaliable right that once acquired remains a vital part of one’s growth. Education is the foundation for the success of any given society. Education does not only encourage personal development but also provides a place for people to interact, socialize and unify their societies.
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family.”
Dr. Koffi Annan
Youth development – the ongoing process in which all youths are engaged in attempting to:
Meet their basic personal needs to be safe, feel cared for, valued, be useful and be spiritually grounded.
Build skills and competencies that allow them to function and contribute in their daily lives.
The awareness creation will help build on these areas of ability:
High self-worth and self-esteem
Sense of self- awareness and spirituality
Sense of safety and structure
Physical health-via sports and exercises
Mental health- via debates, discussions and forums
Perception of responsibility and autonomy
Employability
Forms of Education
a. Formal
We recognize that the quality of basic education needs substantial improvement, and should include new information technologies. I.e. the need to include ICT learning infrastructure in the classrooms for up-to-date information sharing and acquisition.
b. Informal (includes life long learning)
We call for the enhancement of existing mass media and interconnected radio, television and Internet for improved education processes.
We recommend the creation of peer education and exchange programmes and policies to encourage and improve equitable, free and easy use of ICT in underdeveloped rural, urban and remote areas.
c. Online learning
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a non-profit that empowers teachers and students (K-12) to work together with others around the corner or in different parts of the world at very low cost through a global telecommunications network. Started in 1988, iEARN is currently active in over 90 countries. http://www.iearn.org. iEARN is a perfect platform for young people to exchange their idea, thought, and culture and broaden their perspectives on various pressing issues in this world today.
We recommend the establishment of vocational schools at a community level, the creation of Internet cafes, distance-learning centres, and other sites for online education.
Thus, YEARN shall be more concerned at providing need-based training to youths on global issues to help them make right decisions, empower themselves and build their communities.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
There is need to promote environmental education and awareness to educate and inform all stakeholders and the public that irrational depletion of national natural resources is destroying the basis of prosperity for future generations, and as forests disappear, land becoming infertile and water is exhausted or polluted, it’s the poor of today, especially children and women who suffer most. There’s an urgent need to improve public awareness and understanding of environmental issues with a view to promote the conservation and wise use of natural resources at a community level.
Some of the awareness to be created is, among others:
Energy conservation
Safety awareness
Water conservation
Recycling
Environmental protection
3. ICT FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
ICTs are pervasive in every aspect of life today. Youth today need to know ICT tools to participate in education, employment, and even to be entertained. Today’s youths may find it difficult to imagine a world without technology. This is reflected in their use of technology when compared to adult populations.
Young people lead the world’s information society by creating and adopting new technologies. They spearhead almost every major innovation in the Information Technology, from the World Wide Web to Open Source software and today, through social networks like TIG, and Facebook, they make their voice heard like never before.
In fact, a recent report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), found that young people globally use computers, the Internet and mobile phones to a much larger extent than the general public. Yet, in the third-world, many youths have limited access to computer and other technological tools at home. The ITU also found out that technological tools were less available in the developing world when compared to the western countries. These youths therefore find it difficult to hone the technical skills necessary for further education and the world of work, limiting their potential to meaningfully take part in the global society.
We encourage the local production of educational and ICT content and access to content.
We emphasize the potential for ICTs to serve as a vehicle for young people to practice and nurture their cultures. Global knowledge allows young people to define who they are by comparing and contrasting themselves with others. It can foster a greater respect for the wider variety of local knowledge bases and customs, thus helping to maintain cultural diversity.
We believe that ICTs may be used not only to import technological know-how from overseas but may be used to record and spread traditional know-how (for example: medicinal knowledge of Indigenous communities, etc.)
“ In order to empower young people and close the digital divide, it is necessary that youth understand ICT. ICT must be used as medium for the dissemination of information about such important issues as HIV/AIDS prevention and de-stigmatization, personal hygiene and maintenance of sanitary conditions, environmental problems and matters of cultural and social nature having a practical impact on the everyday life of young people.”
Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy
ICT can be applied in health care including the use of relatively simple Internet based data management systems to exchange information such as patient records between health care professionals. Tele-medicine applications now available also make it possible to deliver health care in isolated locations.
Source: Creating Youth Employment through ICTs best practice examples and strategies, Richard Curtain – Australia
We recommend ICT-related employment opportunities for young people, which are illustrated in five best practice principals:
Promoting youth entrepreneurship,
Promoting public-private partnership,
Targeting vulnerable groups of young people,
Bridging the gaps between the digital economy and the informal sector and
Putting young people in charge.
YEARN is consolidating partnerships to set up one-of-a-kind youth telecenter to help disseminate and hone tech-based skills.
4. HEALTH
a. HIV/AIDS
We consider that HIV/AIDS is decimating our generation. Lack of education and information, stigmatization, and negative taboos have increased the vulnerability of youth.
We request that governments commit themselves to implementing policies that ensure free access for young people to health information, education and health sector in order to avoid HIV/AIDS.
We call upon governments and civil society to finance and support the creation and distribution of new technologies to fight HIV/AIDS including new medication, female controlled methods of contraception including female condoms and micro biocides, and culturally appropriate ways to spread information about HIV/AIDS prevention.
b. Drugs and Substance Abuse
We affirm that drugs are very dangerous to life, that they are harmful to our personal development; they destroy health and can be fatal. We demand access to adequate information to preventive education.
We consider the prominent role of media in our lives. We recall and expect from them objective and reliable information and a meaningful participation in prevention, and vigilance on their part so that we are not exposed to advertising or to messages, which condone drugs, addicts.
We shall be educating the youth on the issues and challenges surrounding drugs and substance abuse. We also will be educating the community (peer educators) on how to identify someone who may be abusing drugs while sharing some helpful tips on how to live healthy without drugs.
Education is the only inaliable right that once acquired remains a vital part of one’s growth. Education is the foundation for the success of any given society. Education does not only encourage personal development but also provides a place for people to interact, socialize and unify their societies.
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family.”
Dr. Koffi Annan
Youth development – the ongoing process in which all youths are engaged in attempting to:
Meet their basic personal needs to be safe, feel cared for, valued, be useful and be spiritually grounded.
Build skills and competencies that allow them to function and contribute in their daily lives.
The awareness creation will help build on these areas of ability:
High self-worth and self-esteem
Sense of self- awareness and spirituality
Sense of safety and structure
Physical health-via sports and exercises
Mental health- via debates, discussions and forums
Perception of responsibility and autonomy
Employability
Forms of Education
a. Formal
We recognize that the quality of basic education needs substantial improvement, and should include new information technologies. I.e. the need to include ICT learning infrastructure in the classrooms for up-to-date information sharing and acquisition.
b. Informal (includes life long learning)
We call for the enhancement of existing mass media and interconnected radio, television and Internet for improved education processes.
We recommend the creation of peer education and exchange programmes and policies to encourage and improve equitable, free and easy use of ICT in underdeveloped rural, urban and remote areas.
c. Online learning
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a non-profit that empowers teachers and students (K-12) to work together with others around the corner or in different parts of the world at very low cost through a global telecommunications network. Started in 1988, iEARN is currently active in over 90 countries. http://www.iearn.org. iEARN is a perfect platform for young people to exchange their idea, thought, and culture and broaden their perspectives on various pressing issues in this world today.
We recommend the establishment of vocational schools at a community level, the creation of Internet cafes, distance-learning centres, and other sites for online education.
Thus, YEARN shall be more concerned at providing need-based training to youths on global issues to help them make right decisions, empower themselves and build their communities.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
There is need to promote environmental education and awareness to educate and inform all stakeholders and the public that irrational depletion of national natural resources is destroying the basis of prosperity for future generations, and as forests disappear, land becoming infertile and water is exhausted or polluted, it’s the poor of today, especially children and women who suffer most. There’s an urgent need to improve public awareness and understanding of environmental issues with a view to promote the conservation and wise use of natural resources at a community level.
Some of the awareness to be created is, among others:
Energy conservation
Safety awareness
Water conservation
Recycling
Environmental protection
3. ICT FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
ICTs are pervasive in every aspect of life today. Youth today need to know ICT tools to participate in education, employment, and even to be entertained. Today’s youths may find it difficult to imagine a world without technology. This is reflected in their use of technology when compared to adult populations.
Young people lead the world’s information society by creating and adopting new technologies. They spearhead almost every major innovation in the Information Technology, from the World Wide Web to Open Source software and today, through social networks like TIG, and Facebook, they make their voice heard like never before.
In fact, a recent report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), found that young people globally use computers, the Internet and mobile phones to a much larger extent than the general public. Yet, in the third-world, many youths have limited access to computer and other technological tools at home. The ITU also found out that technological tools were less available in the developing world when compared to the western countries. These youths therefore find it difficult to hone the technical skills necessary for further education and the world of work, limiting their potential to meaningfully take part in the global society.
We encourage the local production of educational and ICT content and access to content.
We emphasize the potential for ICTs to serve as a vehicle for young people to practice and nurture their cultures. Global knowledge allows young people to define who they are by comparing and contrasting themselves with others. It can foster a greater respect for the wider variety of local knowledge bases and customs, thus helping to maintain cultural diversity.
We believe that ICTs may be used not only to import technological know-how from overseas but may be used to record and spread traditional know-how (for example: medicinal knowledge of Indigenous communities, etc.)
“ In order to empower young people and close the digital divide, it is necessary that youth understand ICT. ICT must be used as medium for the dissemination of information about such important issues as HIV/AIDS prevention and de-stigmatization, personal hygiene and maintenance of sanitary conditions, environmental problems and matters of cultural and social nature having a practical impact on the everyday life of young people.”
Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy
ICT can be applied in health care including the use of relatively simple Internet based data management systems to exchange information such as patient records between health care professionals. Tele-medicine applications now available also make it possible to deliver health care in isolated locations.
Source: Creating Youth Employment through ICTs best practice examples and strategies, Richard Curtain – Australia
We recommend ICT-related employment opportunities for young people, which are illustrated in five best practice principals:
Promoting youth entrepreneurship,
Promoting public-private partnership,
Targeting vulnerable groups of young people,
Bridging the gaps between the digital economy and the informal sector and
Putting young people in charge.
YEARN is consolidating partnerships to set up one-of-a-kind youth telecenter to help disseminate and hone tech-based skills.
4. HEALTH
a. HIV/AIDS
We consider that HIV/AIDS is decimating our generation. Lack of education and information, stigmatization, and negative taboos have increased the vulnerability of youth.
We request that governments commit themselves to implementing policies that ensure free access for young people to health information, education and health sector in order to avoid HIV/AIDS.
We call upon governments and civil society to finance and support the creation and distribution of new technologies to fight HIV/AIDS including new medication, female controlled methods of contraception including female condoms and micro biocides, and culturally appropriate ways to spread information about HIV/AIDS prevention.
b. Drugs and Substance Abuse
We affirm that drugs are very dangerous to life, that they are harmful to our personal development; they destroy health and can be fatal. We demand access to adequate information to preventive education.
We consider the prominent role of media in our lives. We recall and expect from them objective and reliable information and a meaningful participation in prevention, and vigilance on their part so that we are not exposed to advertising or to messages, which condone drugs, addicts.
We shall be educating the youth on the issues and challenges surrounding drugs and substance abuse. We also will be educating the community (peer educators) on how to identify someone who may be abusing drugs while sharing some helpful tips on how to live healthy without drugs.
OBJECTIVES
• To facilitate access to relevant and timely information sharing and experiences by and among the youth generation through discussion forums, debates, trainings, talent shows, theatre, among others.
• To facilitate trainings on career development for job creation and harnessing untapped talents.
• To involve the youths in the fight against the HIV/AIDS scourge.
• To help youths develop their knowledge, skills, and attitude and use that development for the betterment of the country.
• To involve the youths in environmental conservation measures for better and safer neighborhoods.
• To empower youths by developing right attitude and teaching about societal and global issues that have a lot of impact in their livelihood, i.e. substance abuse, teenage pregnancies, among other reproductive health issues.
• To put up a center for promotion of positive change socially and intellectually among the youths, i.e. ICT development center (telecenter), sporting center (indoor games), VCT center, and library among others.
• To facilitate trainings on career development for job creation and harnessing untapped talents.
• To involve the youths in the fight against the HIV/AIDS scourge.
• To help youths develop their knowledge, skills, and attitude and use that development for the betterment of the country.
• To involve the youths in environmental conservation measures for better and safer neighborhoods.
• To empower youths by developing right attitude and teaching about societal and global issues that have a lot of impact in their livelihood, i.e. substance abuse, teenage pregnancies, among other reproductive health issues.
• To put up a center for promotion of positive change socially and intellectually among the youths, i.e. ICT development center (telecenter), sporting center (indoor games), VCT center, and library among others.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Introduction
Yearn- youth empowerment and resource network is an educational, youth led empowerment organisation that is committed towards empowering youths through educational programmes, workshops, discussions and debates that will help uplift the resourcefulness of the youth by providing opportunities, and resources for their development. Youth are world's greatest untapped resource. Half the world's population is under the age 28. In the developing world, where 80% of young people live, they constitute up to 70% of a nation's population. We believe that youth ain't a burden, but a resource!
Youth disproportionately feel the effects of global issues. Youth unemployment is running av almost 40%, tens of millions of children work, exploited by the global economy in the poorest parts of the world. Youth need to be empowered so they know they can make a difference.
Youth disproportionately feel the effects of global issues. Youth unemployment is running av almost 40%, tens of millions of children work, exploited by the global economy in the poorest parts of the world. Youth need to be empowered so they know they can make a difference.
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